Pakistan stars depart for betting scam probe

Three Pakistan players embroiled in betting scam allegations headed to London on Wednesday for questioning which could lead to them being sent home in disgrace from the team's tour of England.

Test captain Salman Butt plus bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif will miss Pakistan's match with county side Somerset in Taunton on Thursday, a warm-up match before the side's limited overs internationals against England.

The trio left the team hotel in Taunton accompanied by team security officer Major Khawaja Najam, flanked by private security guards and police officers. Butt shook his head when asked by a reporter if he was "guilty".

The trio will face questions from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt and Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan's high commissioner (ambassador) to Britain, in London on Thursday.

"The boys are leaving today (Wednesday). They will have a meeting at the High Commission (embassy) tomorrow (Thursday)," Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed had earlier told reporters.

It appears increasingly likely the trio will play no further part in the tour amid mounting calls for the trio to be barred from appearing while the probe into the allegations remains active.

Following the Somerset warm-up, Pakistan play two Twenty20 matches against England in Cardiff on Sunday and Tuesday, then five one-day internationals.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has promised "prompt and decisive action" if the "spot-fixing" allegations linked to betting rings made by Britain's biggest-selling newspaper are proven.

Its chief executive Haroon Lorgat hopes there will be "some sort of conclusion" to the probe within the next few days.

England's players meanwhile are reportedly reluctant to line up against a Pakistan team containing the tainted trio, according to Professional Cricketers' Association chief executive Angus Porter.

"The England players understand it is important the games go ahead and they will be professional but they would or will find it really difficult to play against the guys directly implicated," Porter told the Daily Telegraph.

Pakistan's one-day captain Shahid Afridi meanwhile said he was battling to maintain his beleaguered squad's morale as they prepared for Thursday's match with Somerset.

"We are definitely looking forward to getting back to cricket," Afridi told reporters.

"Myself and the coach (Waqar Younis) are trying to keep morale high. It's always very difficult in these conditions against a good team but they are all really focused."

The scandal erupted on Sunday when The News of the World alleged that Mazhar Majeed, a 35-year-old agent for several Pakistan players, took 150,000 pounds (185,000 euros, 230,000 dollars) to arrange for deliberate no-balls to be bowled at precise points in last week's Test match against England.

The information would be of enormous value to the spot-betting industry, where money is wagered on specific incidents in matches.

Majeed was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers in the wake of the allegations, but was released on bail without charge on Sunday, to return at a later date.

The world of cricket has reacted with shock and dismay to claims that huge sums of money had changed hands in alleged fixing schemes at international level, linked to shadowy betting rings.

Investigators from the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit are in Britain looking into the allegations.

Meanwhile in Australia, it has emerged that four cricket stars were targeted by a suspected illegal bookmaker.

Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson were targeted by the unnamed figure who approached two team-mates in England last year, reports said on Wednesday.

The Sydney Morning Herald and Daily Telegraph said Lee and Johnson were confronted in the team hotel's bar during the tour of England, fuelling fears over illegal betting after a newspaper sting snared an alleged match-fixer.